PDEA-7 says shabu supply is down after Zambales op
CEBU CITY – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Central Visayas (Region 7) on Wednesday said it expects a drop in supply of illegal drugs in Central Visayas following the successful operation in Zambales.
Levi Ortiz, PDEA-7 regional director, in a press conference, said Region 7 localities were among the destinations of the PHP3.4 billion worth of shabu confiscated in a resort in the town of Candelaria during an operation of the PDEA, Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines and Bureau of Customs.
“This operation in Zambales will be a big help in reducing the shabu supply in our region because this huge shipment of drugs was intended for distribution to super-regions like Central Visayas, National Capital Region, Region 4A, and Region 3,” Ortiz said in Cebuano.
He cited the “information-sharing” environment among the law enforcement agencies as a key factor in successful drug operations and in averting voluminous importation of illegal drugs from abroad.
He said drug dens in Cebu will also suffer the impact of the Zambales operation as the agency expected that the supply of drugs to smaller traders will be cut off once their existing stocks run out.
Ortiz said the agency is determined to crush even smaller drug dens with the belief that they are “breeding ground of crimes such as domestic violence and other sorts of illegal activities”.
On Tuesday, a joint operation in Barangay Libertador, Candelaria yielded around 500 kilograms of shabu with four Chinese suspects neutralized.
PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva called it this year’s biggest drug haul in the country so far. (PNA)
